The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Thursday, January 25, 2018

CNN covers Key West sting

UPDATE--And in other news, here's some shameless promotion for my daughter who is performing in a professional show, Ride, tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 (and Saturday at 7:30) at Area Stage on US1 in South Miami (the old Riviera movie theatre). Come check it out!

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CNN covers the Key West sting to "bring down an ISIS-supporting weightlifter" here. The pepper eating seems weird:

Harlem Suarez grabbed a jalapeno pepper from his plate and took a big bite. The heavily tattooed Cuban-American crepe-maker was eating dinner with two new friends, Shariff and Mohammed, at a Denny's in Key West on a warm June night. Suarez wanted to impress them but they laughed instead, joking in Arabic that he seemed suicidal.
"You've got nothing to prove, man," said Mohammed, as Suarez's eyes welled up with tears from the heat of the pepper.
Suarez did have something to prove. He wanted to convince Mohammed and Shariff that he was a devout jihadist with a grand plan to rain hell on Key West.
Never mind that Suarez had tried and failed repeatedly to make contact with ISIS recruiters abroad, according to court documents. He spent most of his downtime lifting weights at the gym and partying at kitschy bars on Duval Street.

Before long he'd be one of only two Americans sentenced to life in prison by the US government for plotting terror attacks on behalf of ISIS.
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One Facebook user accepted Suarez's friend request because he saw they had a mutual friend. He was alarmed by the images and rhetoric on Suarez's page, so he notified the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and gave screen grabs to the FBI. Within weeks of the initial tip from the Facebook friend, the FBI had a surveillance team following Suarez around the clock. At least 20 agents surveilled Suarez each day and sometimes 10 to 20 extra FBI employees were brought in to help keep tabs on him, according to court testimony. Mohammed, one of Suarez's dining companions at Denny's, was a paid FBI informant who specialized in terror cases. Shariff was an undercover agent posing as an ISIS supporter who knew a bomb-maker. They were both wired for sound and video as they joked about spicy peppers at the chain restaurant that calls itself "America's diner," famed for its big breakfasts and epic menu.
Mohammed said, "Eating those jalapenos is a struggle, it's a jihad."
As the three laughed, Shariff praised Suarez, "He said he didn't know any Arabic (but) he knows 'jihad.' "
Suarez didn't know Arabic. Nor did he recognize the name of ISIS' leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mohammed taught him about al-Baghdadi and introduced him to the terror group's handbook, "How to Survive in the West." Mohammed told Suarez he had camera gear and said they should make a recruiting video. The two wrote the script at Burger King and filmed it in a roach-laden room at a Knights Inn in Florida City.

"Mohammed, one of Suarez's dining companions at Denny's, was a paid FBI informant who specialized in terror cases."

and

"Suarez didn't know Arabic. Nor did he recognize the name of ISIS' leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mohammed taught him about al-Baghdadi and introduced him to the terror group's handbook, 'How to Survive in the West.' Mohammed told Suarez he had camera gear and said they should make a recruiting video. The two wrote the script at Burger King and filmed it in a roach-laden room at a Knights Inn in Florida City."

and

"Before long he'd be one of only two Americans sentenced to life in prison by the US government for plotting terror attacks on behalf of ISIS."

While I am a native-born, white "American" of Irish-Catholic ancestry, I wanted to read "How To Survive In The West" to see if it had any tips on how to stretch my food dollar, or how a cranky old man might find a middle-age lady to marry and kvetch at, etc.

In the end, why can’t we all just get along?

Here is a link to a PDF version of "How To Survive In The West" followed by a book review,

https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/863.pdf

Lawyers, see page 20, bottom:

"You should practice in your backyard or inside your home cellar, but not in public places because cameras' are everywhere. Many Muslims have been suspected of doing 'military training' in public areas, their lawyers' excuses of 'just playing and joking' did not save them from imprisonment"

"The more you read the book, the more it’s clear the author has little to no conception of how to fight, shoot or sow terror. To conceal one’s identity, the author suggests wearing disguises, and includes a photo of a man with a goofy fake mustache."

The Southern District of Florida blog was started in 2005 by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.